KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Detroit Tigers began the 10-game road trip with a glimmer of hope.

But even after going 5-5 on their trek to Toronto, Minneapolis and Kansas City, they are a distant 12 games out of first place with 25 games left to play.

Now, all they can hope for is to be spoilers. And they will get the chance to be just that in four games against the Chicago White Sox, who still have a shot at catching the Minnesota Twins.

The Kansas City Royals beat the Tigers 2-1 on Sunday to end their shot at having the season’s first winning record on a multi-city road trip.

“I was a little disappointed today in a lackluster offensive effort,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. “We just didn’t get many chances.”

Royals outfielder Alex Gordon drilled Tigers reliever Brad Thomas’ first pitch in the sixth inning for a home run, and that was it for the scoring after Detroit had tied the game in the fifth.

The Tigers feasted on Kyle Davies two weeks ago in Detroit, scoring seven runs on 12 hits before he came out in the fifth inning. But, aside from Casper Wells’ second game-tying home run in four days Sunday, they could get nothing else off Davies.

Davies got himself into a bases-loaded jam in the fifth with two walks and an error by first baseman Billy Butler. Wells’ homer earlier that inning seemed to rattle Davies, but with two out and three on, he got Johnny Damon to strike out swinging.

“I was just trying to foul it off,” Damon said. “It was a changeup too close to take. But I felt I had a good swing at the 3-1 fastball and fouled it off.

TRACKING THE TIGERS

Sunday’s game: Alex Gordon’s solo home run on the first pitch thrown by reliever Brad Thomas in the sixth inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 2-1 lead, and that’s how it ended. Armando Galarraga struggled to get his elbow loose, but still allowed just one run in five innings.

Record: 68-69

Clutch homers: Casper Wells tied the game with a solo home run off starter Kyle Davies in the fifth inning, and his ninth-inning solo shot Thursday at Minneapolis also tied that game. Those were two impressive first homers in the majors.

The only run Tigers starter Armando Galarraga allowed in five innings came on an odd RBI double credited to Wilson Betemit in the first. Right fielder Brennan Boesch struggled with the ball and had it clear his glove on the warning track.

“He just botched it,” Leyland said. “He didn’t get back on the ball.”

Boesch said the sun, which caused problems for fielders on high flies, wasn’t a factor.

“It’s a play I should make,” Boesch said. “I drifted back and it kept carrying. It took off more than I thought.”

Miguel Cabrera, playing with a troublesome left shoulder that he said is better, nearly tied it with an opposite-field drive in the eighth inning that reached the warning track.

“If I feel better, yeah, that’s a home run,” he said.

A chance at winning a fourth consecutive game and sweeping the Royals came up short. Detroit played three extra-inning games in a row with Minnesota and Kansas City before winning by two runs Saturday.

For the first time this season, the Tigers ended a road trip of two cities or more without a losing record.

“It was a long one,” Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge said. “But I thought we played hard, especially this last stretch. It will wear on you at the end of the year.

“You don’t give up, and we are going to play it like it’s the last game of the World Series. Our intention is not to be spoilers, but to win every game. It’s easy to play hard if you are playing for something. But when you don’t, you find out who the competitors are, who the guys are who grit their teeth.”